Save the last dance for me
by U may say that I'm a dreamer
Summary: Jimmy Palmer's wedding. A little bit of everything rolled into a ball of cuteness but majority will be focused around Tony and Ziva.
1. Chapter 1

It was the end of a long week. They had just wrapped up a case and now were stuck at work late on a Friday night with the gruelling process of the paperwork. What's more was that it was Jimmy Palmer, the autopsy gremlin's wedding on the weekend and nobody had confirmed their invite. Although from the tuxedo bag hanging on the back of Gibbs chair and the conversation between McGee and Abby which overheard by Ziva, it was sort of assumed that most of them were going. Most because Ziva herself was uncertain of going because she had nothing to wear and she had heard nothing from Tony. Slowly one by one, each team member began to leave after wrapping up their work, first McGee, then Gibbs. Finally it was just Ziva and Tony in the bullpen.

"So" Tony began, "Are you going to Palmer's wedding?" It was just a casual question but given that he spoke as soon as the elevator doors closed, marking Gibbs' departure, Ziva saw that he definitely was waiting till they were alone before asking.

"Um, yes I think so, I just do not have anything to wear. What about you?"  
>"Well yeah, why not? Oh come on Ziva, you can take on 15 men armed with every weapon imaginable but you find a simple dress to wear for a wedding?"<p>

Ziva looked up from a computer and narrowed her eyes. She picked up a file and walked over to the filing cabinet opposite Tony's desk,  
>"It's not just a 'simple' dress. These occasions always cause for something special." She filled the documents and leant against the cabinet after shutting it tight. "It's not like we just throw on a tuxedo within 10 mins and just walk out the door. It's times like this that a girl likes to dress up well and even an assassin likes to put on an elegant gown once in a while" Her mouth curled into a small smile.<p>

"Huh" Tony murmured, "I guess I never thought about that", Tony kept his eyes on her as she began to walk back to her desk to start packing up. He too had just finished and was ready to go home.  
>"Mmmhhmm exactly" .<p>

A few silent minutes passed as they both began to pack up. Tony kept glancing at Ziva, with an expression that made him seem restrained, like he wanted to say something, but couldn't.  
>As he saw her stand up with her bag, the voice in Tony's head began to speak<br>'_Now or never'  
><em>And within a second, the silence was broken.  
>"So what time should I pick you up?" He attempted to sound casual, giving her a quick look before returning to his bag.<p>

Ziva looked up, her own bag in her hand with a confused look on her face.  
>"Well that depends on where you plan on taking me"<p>

Tony let out a snort, "Um, the wedding?"

Subtly was never Ziva's best skill, as were American Idioms, but tonight Ziva could definitely see the subtly in this. There was no doubt in her mind that he had just asked her to accompany him to the wedding.

She paused for a second before replying, "10am and DON'T be late" Ziva pointed as she headed to the elevator just as Tony replied with a salute,  
>"Yes my ninja<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys  
>thanks so much for all the reviews and alerts!<br>Heres chapter 2! :D  
>Happy reading<br>Disclaimer: I dont own NCIS *sad face***

Ziva arrived home, showered and got into her night clothes. With a cup of tea in her hand, she was now ready to face the impossible task ahead of her, figuring out what the hell to wear to the wedding. She glanced at the time,

"Ok, it's only 10:45, the wedding does not start till 12pm tomorrow but I have to be ready by 10…." She began to pace the room, trying to figure out the best way to resolve this disaster. For starters, she was going to need help and even though running to a girl who probably wouldn't be caught dead in anything but black wasn't the best plan Ziva had come up with in her lifetime, it was the only one she had.

"Ziva, desperate times call for desperate measures. Ok I'll be there in about half an hour" Abby replied excitedly over the phone.

"Why? You only live 15 mins away and it's not like there is any peak hour at this time of the night" Ziva replied, clearly puzzled.

"Ok Ziva do you really want to talk about how long it takes me to drive my car to your house or do you want me to come over?"  
>The silence on the receiving end gave Abby her answer. "Good, ok I'll be over soon, you sit tight!" And with that Abby ended the phone call, leaving Ziva to pace around her room some more and wait around for Abby to show up.<p>

Just as Abby said, she did arrive half an hour later and not a minute more, carrying an abnormally large box and a bottle of wine.  
>"Abby? What's all this?" Ziva exclaimed as she opened the door.<br>"This Ziva, is the extra 15 mins AND your saviour." Abby replied with a smile stretching from ear to ear.  
>They both carried the box to Ziva's bedroom and poured out the wine.<br>"Oh yay! I haven't had a girls night in ages! The last time was probably with Kate but can't be too sure, although I think my bowling nuns-"  
>"Abby!" Ziva interjected, "The box" Her head nodded towards the brown box slumped on the floor. "Oh yeah!" She kicked off her shoes and sat Ziva on her bed, "Ok so I know that you're not one to really carry dresses stuff around," She started, "seeing as all you ever wear are pants", Abby spoke to herself.<br>Ziva let out a laugh. It was true, what she said, but what Abby didn't know was that Ziva kept all of the outfits that she used while she was undercover, dresses, skirts and all.  
>"So," Abby continued with the wine glass in her hand "I took the liberty of going down to my friend's place, she's a dress maker by the way, and I picked out some dresses for you to choose from. Personally, these aren't my thing, but I think my choices are pretty awesome if I do say myself. "<p>

Ziva laughed again and took a sip of her wine. She had never had a girls night herself because all her life, she was always too busy learning what the best way to hold a knife was or learning how to shoot targets from different angles. But if this was what a girls night was like, she had a feeling that she was going to really like it.  
>Ziva turned her attention back to Abby<br>"So, I'm guessing that this box is full of dresses?"  
>"Yes and shoes and accessories, it IS a massive box!" Abby smiled, "Ok so get out of those clothes and lets begin."<p>

Ziva must have changed roughly 35 times, trying on different dresses, both from her own collection and Abby's. She had never done anything like this before and she was having so much fun at the same time, although Ziva was certain that finishing the whole bottle of wine between themselves had something to do with it. The dresses that Abby picked out were indeed beautiful, but none of them felt right to Ziva. It was already 1am, and they were running out of options.

"Ziva" Abby pleaded, lying flat on her colleague's bed, "We have no other dresses, please just pick one!"  
>Ziva starred at her choices, but then something clicked. There was one more dress that Ziva owned, a dress that she kept safe and secure. It was given to her as a gift by the former and late Director of NCIS, Jenny Shepherd for an undercover op that was abandoned before it even begun. Once Jenny died, Ziva couldn't even bear to think of losing it so she hung on to the dress in hope that it would someday be of use, and right now it seemed to have found its calling.<p>

"Wait Abby" Ziva took it out of its place, put it on and faced her dear friend, "What do you think? Will it do?"  
>Abby gaped at Ziva in awe, her eyes widening, "It's absolutely perfect. I think we have a winner!"<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey hey!  
>Sorry about the lateness of this, I was a little slack : and couldn't find the motivation to finally complete this until today but I how you enjoy it.  
>Happy reading, But also- read and review!<br>Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, trust me- Ive tried to…..didnt really work out as I planned… **

It was 10 am already and Ziva was still getting ready. She knew her time was up and any minute now, Tony would ring that doorbell but she wasn't ready yet. She was just finishing her makeup when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Shit," she swore silently, "It's open!" Ziva called out from her bedroom and waited till she heard the door open and close.

"Ziva!" Tony called back to her, "Why the hell are you not ready yet?"

"I am!" She shouted back with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Then get your ass down here so we can leave!"  
>Ziva bit back a retort and decided that it was much more purposeful to use her energy on finding her earings that she had been frantically searching for.<br>'Where is it? Where is it? Where is it!' She mumbled continuously as she turned out ever drawer, searched on every table and scanned the floor.  
>Meanwhile, Tony was pacing back and forth in her living room.<br>"Ha and she tells me I'm the tardy one. Look at me! I'm the one patiently waiting from 10 am sharp yet shes the one still GETTING READY!" Tony raised his voice at end of his rant just to make it clear to her that she was indeed testing his patience. He checked his watched, it was already 10:30. He sighed and faced her bedroom, reading to shout out to her again.  
>"ZIVA, DON'T MAKE ME-" He stopped midsentence as he watched her walk down her stairs into the living room.<br>Ziva descended down the stairs gracefully. As a highly trained agent, she was always quick on her feet, but to Tony, she looked like she was gliding. Her one shouldered dress was made out of the most beautiful beige material with very delicate and intricate gold hand work that formed elegant patterns. Her hair was straightened and contained a silky tint as it was draped over her shoulders. Her heels were of a gold tinge and they were high. Her makeup was flawless, her eyes were dazzling and striking and her scent was luscious. Everything about her seemed perfect right down the very earrings she wore. It was a flawless sight and Tony had a tough time taking his eyes of her.

"Don't make you do what?" She questioned as she flashed him a million dollar smile, one that Tony could never forget. He cleared his throat, closed his mouth and began to speak

"Oh… um nothing" He looked away quickly to pick up her clutch in an attempt to hid his face as he regained his composure.  
>"You look.." He coughed to hid the fact that he had stopped midsentence as the sight of her distracted him from what he was about to say, an action that did not go unnoticed by Ziva "Where did you manage to find that dress?"<br>"Oh it was something that I just had, lying around" She replied with a shrug and very shy look on her face, similar to one of a school girl as she stood her high school crush.  
>"Oh, well I've seen better" Tony replied with a cheeky grin.<br>Ziva's eyes narrowed as she flashed her own devious smile, "Be careful Tony, you may not see it but I still have my gun on me"  
>Tony laughed, "well you're not <em>you<em> without _your_ gun" He then bowed slightly before offering his arm to her "Shall we, my lady?"  
>"We shall, lead the way" She replied, taking his arm as they stepped out of the house and made their way to the car.<p>

The drive was painful. Ziva had to sit helplessly and listen to Tony rant on about everything and anything that came to his mind, most of it being movies. She was ready to kill him, but instead, she politely threatened him to stop or else she would take her high heel and repeatedly beat him with it until he bled.

They arrived 15 mins ahead of schedule after Ziva forced Tony to give up the wheel with the idea in her mind: the faster they drove, the less crap she would have to listen to from Tony. Once they got out of the car, they walked into the church to look for their colleagues but instead was taken away by the beautiful paintings and statues. It was not the grand church, like a cathedral, however it wasn't a chapel. The inside was decorated with the most beautiful stain glass windows and delicately crafted statues and a breathtaking altar at the front of the church. As Ziva took her surroundings in, her jaw dropped slightly as she exclaimed, "Wow!"  
>Her eyes darted from place to place, however she had failed to notice Tony, staring at her as he replied,<br>"Yeah, wow"  
>They found Gibbs, McGee, Abby and Ducky standing in a corner, all three men dressed smartly in their suits, while Abby wore this beautiful and elegant off shoulder dress, black of course.<br>"Oh yay! You're here! And it looks beautiful! I knew that was the perfect dress when I saw it! Doesn't she look amazing Timmy?" Abby expressed as she rushed over to the two and embraced them in an 'Abby-style' hug.  
>"Yeah, Ziva you look….yeah wow!" McGee responded as his eyes fell into a trace at the sight of her, only to be pull out by a sharp pain in his arm<br>"Ow! Abby What was that for?"  
>"Well I didn't say you could '<em>ogle' <em>at her"  
>"Gibbs," Tony spoke, as he left the pair to continue with their bicker "You're looking exceptional today, who knew our fearless leader had a sense of fashion" His cheeky grin once again flashed across his face. A small smile spread across Gibbs' face as he spoke,<br>"I would head slap you DiNozzo, but given where we are,"  
>"It hasn't stopped you before" Tony replied back, with a slight tease in his voice and as he expected, he was greeted with the classic 'Gibbs' Stare',<br>"We should take our seats" Ducky interrupted, "The procession is about to start".  
>They all followed Ducky who led them to their row, which surprisingly was one of the first few in the church, directly behind Palmer's family. It wasn't until then that they realised how much Palmer regarded them all as family. Once seated, Tony glanced over at Palmer and gave him a friendly nod. Palmer however was shaky, trembling and replied back with a little nervous smile. Tony never really considered the Autopsy Gremlin anything more than an acquaintance so to realise that he believe Tony to be considered family made him warm up to Jimmy. In return as a small way of showing his gratitude, Tony sent Jimmy an encouraging smile and mouthed the words, '<em>You'll be fine'<em> which seemed to calm Jimmy down a little bit and only just in time as the music began, cuing the bride to enter.


End file.
